The present disclosure relates to methods and an apparatus for dispensing bolts and, more particularly, methods and systems for dispensing bolts into apertures formed on a work piece.
One manner of manufacturing a product in mass is through the use of an assembly line in which a work piece is moved through a number of stations and a specific set of components are mounted onto the work piece at each station. Such a manner of manufacturing involves moving the components from a feeder to the work piece at each station. While a single trip from the feeder to the work piece by an automated apparatus such as a robot may be sufficient to carry and mount one type of component on the work piece, it may not be possible to carry and mount a variety of components in a single trip, and thus using conventional manufacturing techniques, multiple trips may be necessary. For example, it may be difficult or impossible to configure the robot to carry and mount bolts or screws of different sizes or shapes onto the work piece efficiently in a single trip.
Thus, there is a need for a method and an apparatus allowing components of different sizes and shapes to be carried and mounted onto the work piece in a more efficient manner.